Thursday, October 26, 2006

Lining Out the Psalms

My Viking-Scottish heart beats faster when I listen to the music linked to below. I'd never heard it before, until a recent e-mail on the student group e-mail list for seminary. There is a stirring, hauntingly beautiful quality to the singing that resembles, but is at the same time very different from - rougher, more earthy, more visceral - Gregorian chant. Gregorian chant is for proper Latin-schooled Europeans. This singing fits very well with the rough, common folk, the Viking descended settlers and their Gaelic neighbors who lived on the outer edges of Scotland.

Apparently this practice of "lining out" the Psalms started in the 17th century and slowly died out everywhere but in some Gaelic speaking churches in the Hebrides, and oddly enough, some white and black churches in the Carolinas. The links below give more of the history.

Thanks to Professor Clark, who finds and sends out some of the most interesting links to the student list.

Look here, here (see link at left on line singing) and here for some history and background.

This link has CD's for sale and a few audio samples.

One participant on the list says the CD's are available for download from iTunes for a whole lot less than it would cost to buy them from Scotland.

NOTE: the links above to gaelicpsalmsinging.com are down as I post this. But keep trying; it's worth it!

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Posted by Martin at 11:36 PM | | Comments

He's Alive!

Pastorshaun is back!

Can we do a wave around the blogosphere to celebrate?

Posted by Martin at 11:32 PM | | Comments

The Wave Turns 25 Years Old

The main page at Yahoo! has been linking to this story about the beginning of the Wave.

Krazy George and the UW athletic department have been arguing about who invented it for 25 years. Who cares?

I was, however, at the UW homecoming game where we first did the Wave.

It was my freshman year and I was in the marching band. Robb Weller, an alumni yell leader and at the time a national entertainment news personality, had come back for homecoming and had the student section in good form. The two regular yell leaders we had were nice guys, but couldn't get the crowd going. Just the reverse. One of them was greeted weekly with the taunt:

Hey! Ungowa! K--- go take a shower!
But Robb Weller had the magic.

He brought back a cheer he'd used in his matriculating days, having the student section stand up row by row, each row starting to cheer as they stood. First he'd do it row by row going up; then row by row going down. The students were into it, and you could hear the roar of voices grow as each row stood.

Now, in the trumpet section we also had a tradition of sorts. Most of us could fit on one row. Every now and then we'd unleash our bitingly sarcastic trumpet cheer (trumpeters aren't into organized forms of cheering or making ourselves seen or heard; we can play louder than most any other section; that's good enough and that's how we like it!). The cheer consisted of each trumpeter standing up in turn and unleashing his own variation of a cheer: "Go Dawgs!" - "Defense!" - "Hip hip!" and so on, some loud, some not, but each having to come up with something original. Freshmen rookies sat at the end and had to really think, which isn't fun to do at a football game, let me tell you.

So, after Robb Weller had the students doing the row by row cheer for awhile, one of the woodwind players - I think the sister of one of the trumpeters, neither of whose name I can remember right now (that memory is locked in a part of my brain behind a door that reads "Do Not Enter") - got our director's attention and yelled at him, "Do it sideways!"

Bill Bissell, our director, was always one for trying something different. He'd had the band strip off their uniforms at the Sun Bown a few years before, while playing "The Stripper." That day we were dressed up in Halloween costumes for our halftime routine. The year before the band formed an outline of Mt. St. Helens and blew itself up.

So Mr. Bissell got Robb Weller's attention and they decided to try it. And here's why I don't think anyone was trying to copy Krazy George. Husky Stadium is in the shape of a horseshoe. The student section is along one side of the horseshoe and extends from one endzone down past the 50-yard line. Robb Weller's intent was to do a sideways standup cheer, but only from one end of the student section to the other. The other feature of his cheer was that once you stood you remained standing.

Something else happened. Weller started the cheer up at the endzone. The students readily embraced the sideways cheer. But then so did the rest of the stadium. A wave of people standing up and cheering swept around the whole place. I think we tried it again. Same thing happened, but this time Mr. Bissell had the idea to have the student section sit down, and when the cheer came around again to stand up again. It worked, and the thing kept going round and round the stadium.

The Wave got picked up at Seahawks games. People in Seattle took to it like a warm cup of good coffee on a cold, grey, drizzly day. Well, any day actually. The students at Husky Stadium started getting creative over the next couple seasons: two or more waves going at once, chasing each other around the stadium; two waves going in opposite directions (the crash as they came together was actually pretty cool); etc.

So, really, I think the Wave is one of those things that got independently invented at two different places at roughly the same time. So who cares who invented it?

But ours was better. :-)

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Posted by Martin at 10:56 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

De-motivation

Speaking of despair (see below), here is a funny take on it, for all of us with a streak of sarcasm or cynicism.

Posted by Martin at 9:23 AM | | Comments

Justification - So What?

Continuing discusion of the second principle: justification.

Previous posts:

Three Principles
God at Work
Scripture is Enough
A Happy Change and Sweet Exchange

At our presbytery meetings candidates for licensure or ordination are asked a series of questions, many to test their knowledge of basic doctrine. The easiest way to give the right answer is to memorize the questions and answers in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Unfortunately, this can also come off as rote memorization, and you wonder what the poor guy really knows and really understands about the doctrine.

Lately presbytery members have taken to asking - after hearing the rote answer to "What is justification?" - the candidate what the doctrine means to them practically, how does it impact his day to day life?

I believe the doctrine of justification has two very important practical implications, summarized in the sub-principle quoted below: "A Christian's understanding that justification is the foundation for all subsequent Christian life and experience." Why is this so?

Understanding what justification is all about protects against two extremes.

The one extreme is pride. Philip Ryken says in his recent commentary on Galatians that the letter was written to recovering Pharisees. And we're all recovering Pharisees. Pharisees think their good works mean something to God, that those works make them better in the sight of God. But justification reminds us that we're all lousy sinners before God and can't do anything to save ourselves. In Christ, God provided all the righteousness we need, crediting Christ's perfect life to our account by grace through faith. Therefore we have nothing to boast of but Christ. There's no room for pride.

The other extreme is despair. The despairing person has the same problem as the prideful person; he thinks what he does - or doesn't do - matters in his salvation. But he despairs because he knows that he isn't good enough; there's no way a holy, righteous God would accept someone like him. But again, in Christ, God took away all the sin we have, crediting it to Christ's account by grace through faith. Therefore we have no reason to despair. It's not about us; it is about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

So practically speaking, justification reminds me not to be prideful and not to despair, but to rest on the mercy and love of God in Christ. Practically speaking then, I can focus on those things God has called me to do (like being a husband, father, employee, student, elder, son, etc.) with gratitude and thankfulness. I can do them to the best of my ability without keeping score of how well or poorly I'm doing, and trust that God will work through me because I'm doing what He's called me to do.

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Posted by Martin at 7:18 AM | | Comments

The Return of Ferd Berfer

Ferd Berfer is a dude I met in cyberspace (and eventually IRL) years ago. He disappeared for awhile, but is back, and forwarded me the e-mail below. It's silly, but also clever:

Product Recall

Attention Please

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of year or make, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units - CODE NAMED Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has technically been termed "Subsequential Internal Non-Morality" or commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some symptoms:

1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish and/or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable or at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service, free of charge, to correct this "SIN" defect.

The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

Please upload your burden of SIN through REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, JESUS, into the heart component.

Not matter how big or small the SIN defect is, JESUS will replace it with:

1. Joy
2. Love
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control

Please see the operating manual: the B.I.B.L.E. - Believers Instructions Before Leaving Earth - for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human-being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded.

For free emergency services, call on JESUS.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facilty.

Thank you for your attention.

God Almighty

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice!

Posted by Martin at 7:05 AM | | Comments

Friday, October 20, 2006

A Happy Change and Sweet Exchange

The second principle from the Reformed University Ministries campus ministry conference was that "justification is God reconciling sinners to Himself in Christ."

I thought I might be able to cover this in one post. Silly me. I'll simply try to introduce the topic now.

Here's how they outlined this second principle to be understood and committed to:

  1. Justification is God's declaring the believer forgiven of all his sins on the basis of Christ's bearing the guilt and penalty of his sins on the cross.
  2. Justification is God's declaring the believer righteous on the basis of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to him.
  3. Justification springs from God's free grace and is received by faith alone.
  4. A proper understanding of justification leads to:
    • A Christian's continual acknowledgment that his acceptance by God is based totally on the work of Christ.
    • A Christian's understanding that justification is the foundation for all subsequent Christian life and experience.
    • A Christian's knowledge that sanctification necessarily flows from justification.
That's a little more detailed than "just as if I never sinned."

There are two quotes that I love in connection with this doctrine:

So, making a happy change with us, He took upon Himself our sinful person, and gave unto us His innocent and victorious Person; wherewith we being now clothed are freed from the curse of the law.

From Martin Luther's commentary on Galatians
and
But when our iniquity was fulfilled and it had become fully manifest, that its reward of punishment and death waited for it, and the time came which God had appointed to manifest henceforth his kindliness and power (O the excellence of the kindness and love of God!) he did not hate us nor reject us nor remember us for evil, but was long-suffering, endured us, himself in pity took our sin, himself gave his own Son as ransom for us, the Holy for the wicked, the innocent for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. For what else could cover our sins but his righteousness? In whom was it possible for us, in our wickedness and impiety, to be made just, except in the son of God alone? O the sweet exchange, O the inscrutable creation, O the unexpected benefits, that the wickedness of many should be concealed in the one righteous, and the righteousness of the one should make righteous many wicked!

From the Epistle to Diognetus, 2nd/3rd century
Justification is at the heart of Reformed theology - not election, not predestination, not the five points of Calvinism (TULIP). It was emphasized as the heart of campus ministry, and so also it is the heart of church planting. The good news of the Gospel is this happy change, this sweet exchange, and so it should be front and center.

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Posted by Martin at 7:10 AM | | Comments

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Gadabout Grandpa for God

My mom's dad was not her natural father, who died when she and her older brothers were still little. Grandma re-married and had another son, but that husband died as well. Finally she married Grandpa Birnie, who adopted all four children and treated them as his own.

Grandpa was born in Holland, but eventually migrated to America. He graduated from Stanford University and had a career at Goodyear. All this was behind him by the time I have any memories of him. What I remember is the blue and white VW van with removable seats, a knob on the steering wheel, and a tiny engine in back. He used it to do gardening work for a number of regular customers. He was a fine gardener, too, which was a good thing because Grandma was a great lover of plants and flowers. Their backyard in Long Beach was a veritable nursery of flora, full of all sorts of flowers, ground cover, bushes, shrubs and trees. Grandpa was always full of energy, fueled by the mountain of Wheaties he ate every morning, tan and strong even when advanced in years.

There are two characteristics of Grandpa Birnie that leave a deep impression on me: his love of his family and his energetic witness for the Gospel.

As a kid I think my image of him was that he was overly subservient. He could definitely be scatterbrained at times, and would be roundly scolded by Grandma for it. But looking back I realize he wasn't a mere bower and scraper. He truly loved her, and all of us. As a result he was more than happy to serve. I think he would have done anything for her or any of us.

When we'd come to visit, almost once a year, especially in the latter years before he moved to Seattle, a trip to the beach, usually Hermosa Beach where our great aunt lived, was a regular feature. My brother and I loved to body surf. I can still see my grandfather standing stolidly on the shore anxiously watching as my brother and I, late grade-school age, waded out as far as we could - and then farther - in order to catch the best waves. I had no doubt then, and none now, that my senior citizen grandpa would have jumped in to rescue us if we got in trouble. If the current carried us too far north, he'd wave us back closer to the pier and where the rest of our family was. He cared about us deeply.

After Grandma Birnie died, and he eventually sold their house, Grandpa took to traveling. A lot. He visited family in Canada, Holland, France and Guatemala. He traveled other places as well, often by bus. He had the innate ability to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger at a bus stop and get to know him like an old friend. Eventually the conversation would wind its way toward the Gospel. Did the person know Jesus? Was Jesus his savior? Grandpa was eager to share the Good News with anyone and everyone.

How do I know this? He told me. I loved to hear him tell about his visits after he returned, especially if his trip included seeing his sister in France or his brother in Guatemala. Grandpa knew I was learning French in school, and would test me (he could speak Dutch, English, French and Spanish, to varying degrees). He showed me the French Bible he bought for his sister and let me try to read from it before he took it to her.

Grandpa Birnie loved Jesus and he loved his family. He dearly wanted his family to know Jesus, too. One year for either my birthday or for Christmas, I think (though with Grandpa this sort of gift could be just because), he gave me a copy of John Stott's Basic Christianity. I remember reading it, and liking it, thankful for a man like my grandfather who cared enough to give it to me.

I'm not anywhere near as outgoing with others as Grandpa Birnie was. Like him I do love Jesus and my family dearly. I'm not as adept at sharing the Gospel with others but still, largely I think from his example, have a deep desire for others to know the Good News. I believe it's a part of the reason planting a church is such a strong desire for me. Not only does a pastor get to preach and teach about the wonderful salvation offered in Jesus Christ, but a church plant is the kind of environment where - hopefully - opportunities to share the Gospel with others will be more plentiful than they typically are in a more established church.

Grandpa Birnie may not have been my "natural" grandfather, but he was my grandpa. I'm so very glad he was.

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Posted by Martin at 10:24 PM | | Comments

Life Abundantly

KMR wanted to know if I'd post something on what she told me earlier this evening.

OK, I'll bite.

She was thinking about the curse of the Fall, and how as a result our work is toil. If Adam hadn't sinned he, and us in him, would have earned life. Work without toil is what we would have. But we don't. However, the new heavens and earth will be like that life we lost. That's motivation for hoping Christ will come soon.

And she's right. In Adam we could have had life, but instead in Adam we all died. But in Christ we are made alive, and in Him we have not just the life we lost, but life more abundant. The first Adam became a living being, but the second Adam became a life-giving spirit.

I once heard someone say that if in six days God made the heavens and the earth, and all good and perfect, how much more wonderful will be the place He has been preparing for us ever since?

Maranatha!

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Posted by Martin at 10:08 PM | | Comments

Classy Fall Classic

While Dodgers-Mariners is still my ultimate World Series, and now will have to wait at least another year, two classy, old-time teams made it to the Series this year in the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Being a Senior Circuit guy, I'm rooting for the Cards. I hope the Series goes seven games, though, and ends up a true classic.

Posted by Martin at 10:04 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

More on Two Kingdoms

The two kingdoms debate has become the hot topic lately among a lot of Reformed folks, and is apparently also the hot topic at seminary. (When I was there more regularly, it was a completely different issue that was the all important rage. These things tend to cycle in perceived importance.)

In any case Jason has a post - follow the link and look for "Holy Urbanism Old and New" - which also references Dr. Hart's book A Secular Faith. Jason's post has generated a lot of discussion in the comments to it. If you're interested in or curious about such things, take a look.

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Posted by Martin at 7:37 AM | | Comments

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Veggie Poetry

Half Pint has a nightly reading assignment for school. A few days ago beets were part of the story. I don't remember why, but it's now become a running gag of sorts. She might be struggling with how to pronounce a word and looking for help. My kind, fatherly assistance? "Beets." She thinks I'm weird.

I don't think she's had beets since the Gerber days, so she doesn't know what they are. Nevertheless, the beet is part of the dreaded childhood foodgroup: vegetables. I think one of the laws of the Medes and the Persians was that kids are entitled not to like a food just because it's a vegetable. Now it's ingrained in the childhood DNA.

Vegetables were in her reading tonight - no beets, though. Peas were. Half Pint doesn't like peas either. I did. And my dad wrote a poem about it, to wit:


Peas, peas, little green peas
Sitting in my bowl.
They are so yummy tasting good
I like to eat them whole.

Peas, peas, little green peas
I eat them all the time.
I eat them with my fingers
But I really am sublime.

I never use a fork or spoon
Like older people do.
You see, the actual reason is
I'm not yet even two.

Peas, peas, little green peas
Sitting in my bowl.
They are so yummy tasting good
I like to eat them whole.
Now, tell me. After reading that, how could anyone not like peas?!?

Besides, it sure beats that "Pease porridge hot" downer of a poem.

Today's kids have Veggie Tales. I had Veggie Poetry.

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Posted by Martin at 10:47 PM | | Comments

Monday, October 16, 2006

A Couple More Things on Grandpa H

One thing I forgot to mention about my Grandpa Hedman was his love of the Lord's Prayer. I don't think I realized it until I was in my late teens. The Lord's Prayer was "routine" for me; we recited it regularly in our worship. But Pentecostals don't put regular recitation of the Lord's Prayer in their worship - I think it was seen as all too Roman Catholic. Grandpa loved it though and in the latter years of his life was asked to lead public recitations of it, for example at my first wedding and other similar occasions. It was his example that motivated me to take the prayer more seriously and really think about what it meant and why, in our church, we said it regularly.

Secondly, the photo in which the man praying looks like my grandfather is copyrighted, but you can see it at this website.

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Posted by Martin at 7:26 AM | | Comments

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Peter Drucker and the Megachurch

Several days ago I got around to adding the capability to track visitors to this site and how they got here. Near as I can tell most visits are from friends and family. But I have noticed some folks who got here by searching for something on Peter Drucker.

Drucker is often the whipping boy for critics of the megachurch movements. They see leaders of these megachurches - two well-known examples being Willow Creek and Saddleback - using techniques taught by Drucker to grow huge churches that are more business than church. Drucker was also known to be an advocate for megachurches, seeing them as the next step in the life of the church at large.

Drucker was wrong about megachurches. They may already be past their prime. But he was wrong about them whether they're past their prime or not.

Still, what he taught was, in itself, not the problem. They asked the right question. They got the wrong answer.

Peter Drucker was known for three basic questions that he said every organization should ask of itself:
  1. What is our business?
  2. Who is our customer?
  3. What does our customer consider as value?

The first question doesn't apply only to for profit entities. Its essence is to ask: what are we about? For a church, its "business" is doing the work that God called it to do. I don't think there's any major disagreement on this point, in the broad sense, between megachurches and their critics.

The problem comes about in the second question. The wrong answer of the megachurches and most of the church growth movement is that our customer is the person in the pew, or the person we want to get into the pew - Unchurched Harry or Sally. If that's the answer to the second question then the only logical way to answer the third question is to go ask them what they want, what they value, what will get them into church. This is good old market research. Quite frankly, the Willow Creeks and Saddlebacks did their homework, found out what people wanted, gave it to them, and have crowds of people flocking through their doors. Whether those crowds are meaningfully Christian, that is, whether or not they have a deep conviction of sin and saving faith in Jesus Christ, is a matter of much debate.

If they have the wrong answer, what is the right answer? Our "customer" is God. This is something the Reformed branch of the Reformation understood well. When they set out to reform worship, they needed a guideline. They saw in Scripture that God is jealous for His own worship. He only may be worshiped. He may not be worshiped in any visible representtion since no man has seen Him, and therefore any image is false by definition. He seeks after those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. He punishes those who worship falsely. The Westminster Divines had it right when they concluded that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is what God wants from us, what He values.

Peter Drucker's questions, used rightly, lead to the historic regulative principle of worship, and to the realization that it is God whom we are to please, not ourselves, not even the unchurched. We find what pleases God in Scripture. This is where we should be doing our "market research." God's Word sets boundaries for our worship according to His desire, but also allows for flexibility within those boundaries (e.g., we should sing praise to God, but how many psalms, hymns or spiritual songs we sing is not dictated, nor is a given style). God's Word insures that He is pleased, that He is glorified, and that ultimately He is enjoyed forever.

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Posted by Martin at 11:01 PM | | Comments

Church & State, Faith & Politics

Sean Michael Lucas has a fine series of posts on his blog. I generally agree with his views on the relationship between church and state as entities, and on faith and politics in the life of the individual believer. There is good reason for the separation between church and state (neither a wall nor a marriage, in my view), and also for the Christian's faith to inform his politics.

Lucas' series consists of three posts. The first reviews Randall Balmer's book Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. The second reviews Darryl Hart's A Secular Faith. Both books discuss the question of the role of the Christian Church in American politics. The third post interacts with both books and presents Lucas' take on the issues.

On a fascinating and thought-provoking topic, these posts are well worth reading.

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Posted by Martin at 10:43 PM | | Comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Grandpa Was a Preacher Man

I've been wanting to write about the influence each of my grandparents had on me, but the idea slipped to the back of my brain until the post below on old churches in Sweden.

Those who have heard my testimony know that I don't have a story of dramatic conversion to Christianity from a radically anti-Christian or rebellious background. I grew up in a stable Christian family with parents, grandparents, and extended family made up of strong believers. My testimony is not a Pauline Damascus road change, but more like Timothy's: a testimony of God's grace to me in the family He gave me.

I won't write about my parents - they're still alive and still influencing! But all four of my grandparents impacted me in different ways. I'll start with my paternal grandfather, my Grandpa Hedman.

His listing in the phone book, as I recall, was "Hedman, Rev. A.W." Though, despite the implication in the title above, I don't think he actually actually worked as a pastor the last 40 or so years of his life; he retired after many years at an envelope making company. I can only remember hearing him preach once, at the church my uncle serves, I think on the occasion of the church's new baptistry that had just been installed. He preached with conviction and no little fire, accenting his words like many a Midwestern preacher with an extra syllable at the end, as in "Lord-ah." I don't remember the sermon now, but I do remember I liked it.

His pastoral ministry took place before he brought his family from Minnesota to Seattle, following after his older brother. Back in the Midwest he had done missionary work among the Chippewa Indians, and founded and/or served at a number of churches in small-town Wisconsin and Minnesota. Still, so far as I know, once the family arrived in Seattle he did other work.

There are two things that come to mind when I think of his influence on me. One was his quiet, humble, but dedicated service to God; the other is what I learned about prayer.

As to the former, while not a pastor by employ, for many years Grandpa sent cards and gospel tracts to every new parent, newlywed, and to those bereaved. There was a time in Seattle when every birth, and probably most marriages and deaths (if not all) were listed in the two daily newspapers. Using those, Grandpa sent them cards and information about God and the Gospel on behalf of the church he attended. I remember a small room in the basement of their home, where he had a desk and many different published materials, cards and envelopes. I watched him as he worked once or twice, carefully addressing, signing, stuffing and mailing these simple gifts from the church. I don't think there was much, if any, public recognition or acknowledgement of what he did, but I understand that many came to the church and either came back to their faith or newly embraced it due to that simple ministry.

There was no flash or sparkle, no slick methodology - just conscientious, diligent, time consuming work to reach out to the surrounding community. Yet it had an impact, as God chose to use it in people's lives. God doesn't need our public recognition to accomplish His ends, just our faithful service to Him. He is, as Os Guinness puts it, the Audience of One. He is the only audience that ultimately matters.

That's one lesson worth learning.

The other was more indirect. I can't say I learned to pray from Grandpa Hedman. He never sat me down and gave me lessons. I can't even say I carefully listened to all the prayers he invariably gave at the many family gatherings we had as he blessed the food. They were reverent prayers, and you could tell just by listening (at least my young ears thought they could) that the man speaking them was a reverend. Later in his life, when he grew a beard he looked just like that older gentleman you see in those paintings of a white-haired, white-bearded man sitting at table praying over a loaf of bread. Grandpa resisted (he didn't like the idea of pretending to pray), but eventually he was talked into posing like that painting while his picture was taken.

(As an aside, not too long ago we were in the home of some friends where KMR saw that painting on their wall. She looked at me in shock: "Where did they get a picture of your grandpa?")

There are two specific things I remember related to my grandfather and prayer.

When I was in my third year of college I got a full time internship to work in the engineering department at Boeing. Most days I took the bus to work, and decided to use that time to pray. People might have thought I was staring out the window, but really I was trying to pray. Sometimes I could concentrate. Sometimes not. Then Grandpa had another round of very difficult heart trouble. That motivated me to pray, and regularly. I prayed that he would be healed, and believed fervently that he would be. In God's providence Grandpa was healed. The regular practice of praying for him grew into a regimen of praying for other people and other things. Some prayers God answered as I asked. Others He did not.

I learned two things: the wonderful discipline of regular prayer; and the wonderful reality that God answers prayer how He sees best. It was regular prayer where I really did believe that God not only could but would answer postively. I was praying with faith. So what to do with those prayers that weren't answered the way I wanted? Well, I had to learn deeper, more mature faith, that God is not One to be manipulated by me, that He knows His purposes better than I do, that He works all things for good for those who are called according to His purpose. I may not see that good right away - I may never see it. But I saw it often enough to know the truth of that Biblical promise.

The other remembrance is less a lesson, but was more of a shock to my system. My oldest daughter (we'll call her Sissy, which is what her youngest sister calls her) was born six weeks early by C-section. Her mom, a diabetic, had been suffering toxemia and the doctor thought her pregnancy was farther along than it was. It wasn't, but that's another story. We knew in advance what day the C-section would happen, and that day I went out to eat with my parents, my little sister, and Grandpa Hedman. I don't know where Grandma was or my other sister (bro was in Indiana at IU), but there we were, our meals just brought to the table, when my dad did what he pretty much always did and asked his dad to pray for our food.

Grandpa, the man who seemed to pray at every meal at every family get-together, did something totally unexpected, and said, "I think the new father should pray."

What?!?!?! Me? Out loud? In front of other people? In front of Grandpa, the pastor, the Rev. A.W.? My dad (natch!) agreed with him and I must have stammered out something, I can't imagine what. I was at the same time completely embarrased and terribly honored. That my grandfather would not just let, but ask, me to pray while he followed was pretty incredible. It was one of those moments where I realized I was growing up - as if the birth of my first child wasn't enough of a realization!

Now every time I am able to maintain a good, disciplined practice of prayer I often recall those bus rides praying for my grandfather. And it's not unusual, when I pray in public - especially when I'm asked to pray in public for a meal - for me to recall that terrifying moment in that restaurant. Sometimes I remember both at once. The lesson there? I'm not sure, but maybe God is encouraging me and keeping me humble at the same time.

I have a ton of other memories of Grandpa Hedman, but the above are the ones that seem to have impacted me most. Among all those other memories I remember him as a man of quiet, determined, humble, diligent faith who had a deep reverence for God and His Word.

If that isn't a blessed work of God's love and grace in my life, I don't know what is.

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Posted by Martin at 10:44 PM | | Comments

Monday, October 09, 2006

Birdwatching

Many, many years ago my grandmother taught me how to observe and identify birds. I've been hooked since. So this kind of discovery is one I love to see.

New bird pics:



The breadth, diversity, creativity and sheer beauty of God's handiwork is amazing.

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Posted by Martin at 11:39 PM | | Comments

The Lord taketh away, and the Lord giveth

As one of my sisters so aptly helped describe it, the Lord smote our old TV's. And we were OK with that.

And then the other sister said, "Hey, I've got one sitting in my storage unit. You can have it." So now thanks to her we are part of the viewing public again. Just in time to catch up on CSI (some, uh, interesting episodes), and for Half Pint to resume her Little House DVD viewing.

And we're OK with that too!

Posted by Martin at 11:35 PM | | Comments

Scripture is Enough

Now that our computer seems to be virus free, back to regular posting!

Down below I wrote about the three principles I learned at a campus ministry seminar. The first of those principles is that, "The Bible is the Word of God given through men by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." What does this have to do with campus ministry? What does this have to do with church planting?

This first principle is expanded into three sub-points:
  1. The Scriptures are trustworthy, inerrant, infallible and authoritative.
  2. The Scriptures are sufficient to reveal God, the way of salvation, and the will of God for men.
  3. The Scriptures are clear enough to be understood by any Christian using ordinary means with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

None of the above is rocket science; all of the above contain historic Christian teaching about God's Word.

Where I think they particularly apply in today's world is in the sufficiency of Scripture and its capacity to be understood by any Christian. Not that the other ideas in the above three points are any less important, nor are they any less under attack nor all too easily forgotten. But Scripture's sufficiency in telling us what we need to know about God, salvation, and us, and Scripture's clarity to any Christian seem to be most forgotten, abused or neglected in the modern chuch.

We have methods. We have polling. We have marketing techniques. Use them and your church will grow!! But in the methods, in the pollng, in the marketing we too often forget that God promises to work through His Word.

I find it fascinating, as I read through various books and articles on church planting, that the methods proposed so often are bolstered by quotes from Scripture, as if to justify the validity of the method. What is missing is any sense that we should rely on Scripture rather than method. And what is so disappointing is that all the proponents of various methods emphasize that the "success" of a church plant is ultimately dependent on God. That acknowledgement is refreshing and welcome, but disappointing in that it misses the point of how God promises to work.

How has God promised to work? Through His Word. In Isaiah God states that His Word does not return to Him void, but goes out and accomplished what He purposes for it to accomplish. What does Paul instruct young Timothy to do? Preach the Word, in and out of season.

Today's emphasis on method, polling, technique, etc. betrays a lack of faith that God's Word is sufficient as defined in #2 above, and a lack of faith that God's Word can be understood by ordinary means (i.e., it doesn't need special packaging to be understood!).

Rather than technique or method, a new church plant must put its hopes in the sufficiency and "understandability" ("perspicacity" in theological terms) of God's Word. The new church should commit itself to faithful preaching and teaching of God's Word, but that is not all. If all the new church has is a commitment to preaching and teaching God's Word then all it has commited to is another method. The new church and its leaders must also have faith that God will work through the ordinary means of communicating God's Word. James tells us that faith without works is dead; so also are works without faith, no matter how biblical those works are.

One of the speakers at the campus ministry conference related how another campus minister with a different ministry was amazed at how many students attended the RUM sponsored Reformed University Fellowship. The RUF folks didn't aggressively evangelize. They had programs but seemed to have fewer, or at least different (e.g., small group Bible studies as prevalent as fellowship activities) kinds of activities and programs. He wanted to know how the RUF minister got so many kids to come to their weekly large group meetings. What are you doing? (Read: what's your method?)

The speaker's response? We invite kids to come to our weekly meeting, and there I preach the Word.

God's Word was - is - effective.

When/if I am called to plant a church, I pray that it will be a church that focuses on God's Word and has faith that His Word is effective.

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Posted by Martin at 9:34 AM | | Comments

Saturday, October 07, 2006

You win some; you lose some

I haven't posted in awhile because I've been jousting with a computer virus for the last several days. This is one of my least favorite things to do, because it is so time consuming. We've been virus and spyware free for a long time, the programs we've been using doing a good job of protection. But a particularly tenacious and irritating virus got through. I tried several different things in the evenings after work to fix it, various scans and file deletions that had worked in the past, but this time to no avail. Finally today I turned to the nerdy, geeky, techie guys.

I love the nerdy, geeky, techie guys. I'm borderline nerd myself (once upon a time I carried a slide rule around; not just any slide rule, but a circular slide rule, just to be different; and early in my engineering career I dabbled in artificial intelligence programming), but don't ultimately have the patience for the detail that being a good nerd requires. Boy am I glad, though, that there are people who love that stuff.

I found one of their web sites with detailed instructions on how to do a thorough, deep clean of our computer. I ran programs we already have; I downloaded and ran new programs. Some of the scans took forever. Some six or seven hours later I got to the last of the initial (yes, initial!!!) steps, after which I'd be able to re-boot the computer and see if they had worked. I was pretty sure up to that point that the problem still existed, because I hadn't seen the particularly offensive culprit identified and eliminated. Like finding your car keys in the last place you look, I believe that last step got rid of the problem.

Re-boot.

Victory! The dark side was defeated.

Which is more than can be said for the Huskies, who came close to beating the Evil Empire today. And it's more than can be said for the Dodgers, who got swept out of the playoffs today as well (but those #%*& Yankees were tossed out, too - huzzah!).

Nevertheless, while they were losing we got a healthy computer back again.

Fair dinkum.

Posted by Martin at 11:14 PM | | Comments

Monday, October 02, 2006

Potpourri for $400, Alex

A mixture of several topics.
(Be sure to put your response in the form of a question.)
  1. What was Half Pint's seventh birthday? Several weeks ago, we asked her what she'd like to do for her birthday. She wanted to visit grandma and grandpa up in Visalia, so that's what we did this weekend. Besides grandparents, there were aunts, uncles and cousins. Pizza and ice cream cake were consumed. Pictures were taken. Presents were opened. Pretty standard fare - and pretty fun, too.
  2. What is 3 and 1? The Hamilton Bobcats varsity high school football record. This is Vikinglord's school. He's a sophomore on the team so he doesn't get to play much. But a couple games ago he saw a good bit of action on the punt and kickoff coverage teams, and made a few nice tackles. Hopefully I'll see him play this Friday.
  3. What is 4 and 1? The surprising record of the Washington Huskies. Woo-hoo! When I heard Coach Willingham say before the season began that their goal was a bowl game this year I thought: nice motivational tool, but really? Now it looks like a real probability. This week they play the Evil Empire (aka: Southern Cal). It would be so nice if they break the Trojans' Pac-10 winning streak.
  4. What is vocation? Calling. From God. What I've been reading a lot about and therefore been thinking a lot about, since that's part of what the class I'm taking this semester is about. We write reflection papers on our weekly reading assignment. This week I wrote about an article on death as a calling; and another paper interacting with a chapter in one of our books on how vocation can inform ethics. Very interesting and thought provoking.
  5. What was 1988? The last time the L.A. Dodgers won the World Series. This weekend they made the playoffs as a wild card, and this year's team bears some resemblance to the 1988 team. Both have a mixture of veterans and young guys; neither team is all that stocked with stars; yet both teams have that certain determination, comraderie and will to win that can take a team far in the postseason. I hope so!
  6. Who is "Hedman, Rev. A. W.?" My grandfather. That's how his name used to be listed in the phone book. My recent post about churches connected to my family history made me think of my grandparents, all four of whom were strong believers and had an influence on me and my faith. I think I'll write about them in turn. Look for a post about my Grandpa Hedman in the next few days.

And that's all for now.

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Posted by Martin at 7:05 AM | | Comments

About me

  • Martin
  • From Orange, CA
  • Husband; Father; Son; Brother. Ruling elder at church. Loan Officer for Christian lending institution. Seminary student. I hope to be a pastor and plant a church in the near future.
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